Microstructural grey matter parcellation and its relevance for connectome analyses

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Neuroanatomy
• Computational Neuroscience

Background:

• The human brain connectome, representing neural connections, is intrinsically tied to the cortex's structural organization.
• Accurate anatomical frameworks are essential for interpreting connectome data, including cortical regions, white matter tracts, and their interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review available brain atlases and parcellation schemes for the cerebral grey matter.
• To discuss the benefits and limitations of these schemes in connectome analyses.
• To explore the integration of connectivity data with anatomical frameworks for multi-modal brain atlases.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on brain parcellation schemes and connectome analysis methodologies.
• Analysis of how atlas information is applied in seed-based and seed-target connectivity analyses.
• Discussion of connectivity-based parcellation and anatomical interpretation of results.

Main Results:

• Various parcellation schemes offer different benefits and limitations for connectome studies.
• Current methods utilize atlas information for seed-based analyses and interpreting connectivity patterns.
• Integrating connectivity data into anatomical frameworks enables robust interpretation and multi-modal atlas development.

Conclusions:

• Cortical parcellation schemes are indispensable tools for human brain connectome research.
• Standardized anatomical references are crucial for robust interpretation of brain connectivity data.
• The development of multi-modal brain atlases integrating anatomical and connectivity information is key to understanding structure-function relationships.